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The Hidden Depths of Simple Games

Some of the deepest games have the simplest rules. One such game is Hex.

By

Christopher Chabris

July 9, 2015 1:26 p.m. ET

Today’s most popular designer board games can be staggeringly complex. Rule books for games like Twilight Struggle or Lords of Waterdeep can run to dozens of pages, and boxes can contain hundreds of cards, tokens and other equipment. But a game doesn’t have to be complex in its parts to be pleasurable or strategically deep. In fact, some of the deepest games have the simplest rules.

One such game is Hex, which is played on a diamond-shaped, 11-by-11 grid of hexagons. On each turn, a player puts one of his disc-shaped pieces...